My "suite" & not-so-sweet review of Crown Princess w/ pics

[Dreamer333]

One thing I am wondering is that they only reported 4 passenger cabins under quarantine, but perhaps a larger portion of crew? That would explain a lot of issues, especially with addl staff being diverted to the buffet.

 

Good point! This would explain a lot!!!

[Dreamer333]

Thanks for the "Live From" and the pictures. We are booked in C751 Aft Suite on the Crown in 2015 after the Refurbishing and really appreciate your views. If possible do you have any balcony pictures? Again, Thanks!

Mike

 

 

Here you go! :-)

 

 

 

[KruzeKrazy!]

We've been in C751 on the Grand and loved it. It's impossible to not love it! Enjoy!

[Dreamer333]

...cont'd

 

 

We took advantage of the drink package. Because we didn't get onboard until about 7:30pm, they gave us the option of buying the drink package the following day and paying for individual drinks that evening. We decided not to deal with the hassle of it, and just purchased that evening.

 

We drank just a bit more than what we spent on the drink package, so in our case it was worth it. However, I know we spent more in tips than we typically would. We gave at least $1 per drink for tip.

 

Drinks of the Day were:

• Mucho Mango
  
• Rasberry Margarita
  
• Ultimate Tequila Sunrise
  
• Mexican Chihuahua
  
• 24K Gold Rita
  
• Mango Margarita
  
• Monterrey Colada
  

 

The only one I ordered was the Mango Margarita and it was DELICIOUS! As soon as I ordered and it received it, 3 people immediately approached me to inquire what it was, and ordered for themselves. I recommend it, even if it is not the drink of the day!!!!

 

Here's a pic of my delish drink!!!!!!

 

[Dreamer333]

...cont'd

 

Much to my DH's happiness, there were MANY football games playing on MUTS.

 

 

• Detroit Lions vs New England Patriots
  
• Arizona Cardinals vs Seattle Seahawks
  
• Dallas Cowboys vs NY Giants
  
• Baltimore Ravens vs New Orleans Saints
  
• Chicago Bears vs Detroit Lions
  
• Phildelphia Eagles vs Dallas Cowboys
  
• San Francisco 49rs vs Seattle Seahawks
  

 

GO, BEARS!

[AZbeachboy]

Thanks for the story. I look forward to more.

[yogi_6977]

thank you for sharing. was wondering if you could tell us what's movies are on muts also .thank you

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your review and the pictures. Your aft view pics are way cool. I try and exclusively book aft view cabins from here on out. The views are out of this world....:):):)

 

Bob

Edited December 2, 2014 by Woobstr112G

[crochetcruise]

...cont'd

 

 

We took advantage of the drink package. Because we didn't get onboard until about 7:30pm, they gave us the option of buying the drink package the following day and paying for individual drinks that evening. We decided not to deal with the hassle of it, and just purchased that evening.

 

We drank just a bit more than what we spent on the drink package, so in our case it was worth it. However, I know we spent more in tips than we typically would. We gave at least $1 per drink for tip.

 

Drinks of the Day were:

• Mucho Mango
  
• Rasberry Margarita
  
• Ultimate Tequila Sunrise
  
• Mexican Chihuahua
  
• 24K Gold Rita
  
• Mango Margarita
  
• Monterrey Colada
  

 

The only one I ordered was the Mango Margarita and it was DELICIOUS! As soon as I ordered and it received it, 3 people immediately approached me to inquire what it was, and ordered for themselves. I recommend it, even if it is not the drink of the day!!!!

 

Here's a pic of my delish drink!!!!!!

 

 

A friend wants me to try the Mocktail Fruity Rita for her. The 24k Gold Rita sounds VERY tempting! I shall soon have to buy another writing pad-I'm collecting SO MUCH useful information! I shall need a holiday to get over the 2 night cruise! :D

 

Crochetcruise :cool:

[lolane1]

Dreamer, Thanks for posting your comments and I'm sorry you had such problems. It would definitely put a damper on the cruise experience. But, I now have "Suite Envy." Your pictures are fantastic. Thanks for taking the time to post.

[RetiredNTraveling]

Thanks so much for the pictures of the balcony! I can hardly wait! You are the greatest!

Mike

[cattman]

Boy, sure wish we could echo the accolades for the Crown Grill.

 

While we feel very fortunate to not have experienced many of the problems others had to deal with on the same cruise(no noro, never had a problem reaching DR reservations or room service, never saw long lines at HC(probably our timing), our night at the CG was much less than optimal. Sad, as this was our first time in an alternative dining venue after 27 cruises on Princess. We did enjoy the peace and quiet in the lovely room, however.

 

Ironically, we found the food surprisingly good in the MDR - and despite what we had heard about the long waits between courses experienced by others on this board, we found the service there much more efficient and respectful than in the CG. And the lobster in the CG was the same as that offered in the MDR on Thanksgiving night.

 

Sure miss the escargot and crab legs in the MDR, too..... now, if these were offered in the CG, we might give it another try on our next cruise.

Edited December 3, 2014 by cattman

[Ronnieslady]

Dreamer,

Thanks for the good photos of the suite E733 balcony. We are in the same suite this April, although on the Golden:eek:. Just wondering is that beam on the balcony, on the bed side or is it on the couch side???

 

Also did you hear any noise from the lounge below you???? I am hoping not. This is the 1st time for us in a Vista Suite aft, on the E deck.

 

Thanks so much for the info,

Grace

[JimAOk1945]

I think the pagers were another casualty of code red. Difficult to properly disinfect them for reuse maybe?

 

I'm wondering whether pagers have been discontinued fleetwide? I'm hoping they are still used on the Island Princess since we will be on her in a few days.

[San Diego Ellie]

We were also on this cruise, along with our son and daughter in law and grandchildren. We have sailed on Crown several times before, and have never experienced the problems we faced on this cruise. The others have commented on the first day with all of its problems, so I will not add to that, but totally concur. To first deal with positives, we found the food in the main dining room to be good (when we finally got to eat it!!!), and our room attendant was wonderful. Though activities were not up to the norm, in my opinion, they did have very nice Thanksgiving afternoon activities for children in the piazza, along with snack, just on that one day.

 

However, in all other respects the cruise was sub-par. Anytime dining was a disaster this cruise, because of long lines to get in, and the slowest service you could ever imagine once you were seated. The lines waiting for meals (even lunch, in whatever venue) were horrendous. At 5:45 PM, one day, we waited for an hour and a half for a table for the seven of us in the Deck 5 midship dining room! At 7:15 PM we were finally given a table and had the only good service we ever experienced on this cruise at any meal. This was Monday night. We talked to the M.D. and he said if we would come every evening at 7:30, he would guarantee we would have that table for the rest of the cruise. Well, that worked for two nights, and the rest of the nights the table was given away.

 

With the huge passenger load, including seven or eight hundred children, the shows in the Princess theater were on a twice nightly schedule, instead of the three times that we have found on Princess recently and which the passenger count on this holiday cruise really mandated. This resulted in an impossible situation for many people who wanted to get into the 8:00 show.

 

There was just a general atmosphere or disorganization and chaos throughout.

Edited December 3, 2014 by San Diego Ellie

[cattman]

However, in all other respects the cruise was sub-par. Anytime dining was a disaster this cruise, because of long lines to get in, and the slowest service you could ever imagine once you were seated. The lines waiting for meals (even lunch, in whatever venue) were horrendous. At 5:45 PM, one day, we waited for an hour and a half for a table for the seven of us in the Deck 5 midship dining room! At 7:15 PM we were finally given a table and had the only good service we ever experienced on this cruise at any meal. This was Monday night. We talked to the M.D. and he said if we would come every evening at 7:30, he would guarantee we would have that table for the rest of the cruise. Well, that worked for two nights, and the rest of the nights the table was given away.

 

With the huge passenger load, including seven or eight hundred children, the shows in the Princess theater were on a twice nightly schedule, instead of the three times that we have found on Princess recently and which the passenger count on this holiday cruise really mandated. This resulted in an impossible situation for many people who wanted to get into the 8:00 show.

 

There was just a general atmosphere or disorganization and chaos throughout.

 

I think the reason we had such good luck in the MDR with AD was due to our habit of dining late, between 7:45 and 8:30. We have discovered late is the only time to dine on any ship with this many passengers. Made reservations on a couple of nights, but never had a wait as walk-ups on the others. I realize this may not be realistic for many, and we are a party of two, but there were many tables of all sizes available.

 

We found the embarkation surprisingly easy... from check-in to boarding, especially considering the late hour. About the same as if it was the usual 11:00am boarding experience... but with no MDR lunch(bummer!). Living in L.A. helps, as we just arrived early, dropped off our bags, parked, rode the trolley to Ports O' Call for a few drinks, then strolled back to the port at 6:00. We expected a long line into the parking lot and this was not the case. We were able to drop off our carry-ons in the room, then went right to the MDR for dinner. Lots of shorts and jeans in the MDR due to the situation, but no problem.

 

We were also surprised at how well behaved(most of - there are always a few) the 800-or so children were on this cruise, and I know this was due to responsible parenting. We never felt the ship was "overrun", and the adults-only rule was respected at the aft pool.

 

As for the shows, yes, they were very crowded, as usual on the Crown... but after checking out the first production show, we can honestly say those that couldn't get a seat did not miss anything. The Elton John tribute, however, was very enjoyable, with many seats available.

 

Real downers - the MUTS screen needs work(where's the HD??), as do the spa facilities, and a lousy Crown Grill experience. No escargot. Needed more time in PV. But no biggies.

 

Overall we really enjoyed ourselves. Hey, the better you roll with the punches, the better the time you'll have. We almost cancelled(have Platinum vacation protection) the day before but found ourselves saying "so glad we didn't cancel!" more than once during the cruise.

Edited December 3, 2014 by cattman

[Dreamer333]

 

With the huge passenger load, including seven or eight hundred children, the shows in the Princess theater were on a twice nightly schedule, instead of the three times that we have found on Princess recently and which the passenger count on this holiday cruise really mandated. This resulted in an impossible situation for many people who wanted to get into the 8:00 show.

 

There was just a general atmosphere or disorganization and chaos throughout.

 

Yes, there were definitely A LOT of kids on board. Here's a pic of one of the hot tubs:

 

[compozer]

Isn't there a sign next to the hot tub that says children need to be with an adult! Again, none of the crew wants to say anything to the parents. Do you know if any one complained about all the kids in the hot tub? I don't use public hot tubs anymore but that is absolutely ridiculous.

 

 

This is one reason we hate cruising at Christmas - yet we do it every year.

 

Thanks for posting the picture.

[6pack]

Yes, there were definitely A LOT of kids on board. Here's a pic of one of the hot tubs:

 

 

Please tell me this picture was photoshopped!!!

[AZbeachboy]

Isn't there a sign next to the hot tub that says children need to be with an adult! Again, none of the crew wants to say anything to the parents. Do you know if any one complained about all the kids in the hot tub? I don't use public hot tubs anymore but that is absolutely ridiculous.

 

 

This is one reason we hate cruising at Christmas - yet we do it every year.

 

Thanks for posting the picture.

 

Last year on the Crown, parents had their Children in the Sancutary. Staff tried to get them out, but they would not leave. Eventually, the Officer of the Deck came and told them to leave. They finally left after some yelling and screaming. The officer stay around, but he was definately shaken by having to take care of the situation. People though tthey could blatanly disrespect the rules.

[I object 2]

Dreamer, thanks for your review and photos. I booked our first suite....E732, so really appreciate your photos. I'm surprising DH with this suite as a special gift. He thinks I booked a balcony. Not! Oh, won't he be surprised! :D

 

Jan

[Dreamer333]

Please tell me this picture was photoshopped!!!

 

Lol, it was not photoshopped.

[cvpends]

Maybe this is why they have started distributing this letter. We got one in Golden even though we had no kids with us!

[Dreamer333]

Dreamer, thanks for your review and photos. I booked our first suite....E732, so really appreciate your photos. I'm surprising DH with this suite as a special gift. He thinks I booked a balcony. Not! Oh, won't he be surprised! :D

 

Jan

 

Oh what a wonderful surprise!!!! You will LOVE the suite!!!!!

[Dreamer333]

...cont'd

 

MOVIES UNDER THE STARS (MUTS) played:

 

Concerts:

• Beyonce concert
  
• Barry Manilow concert
  
• Tina Turner concert
  
• Bon Jovi concert
  
• Genesis concert
  
• Muse concert
  

 

Movies:

• Edge of Tomorrow
  
• Guardians of the Galaxy
  
• The Fault in Our Stars
  
• Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
  
• Maleficent
  
• Mrs Doubtfire
  
• Mama Mia
  
• The Princess Bride
  
• The Proposal
  

 

And lots of football games (I posted them in a previous post on this thread).

 

We watched a little bit of MUTS while laying out in the sun. I could do without the concerts because Princess seems to have been playing same ones for past few years.